Spring Has Sprung.

Spring has arrived and with it horrible allergies for me and sensory overload for Noah Finn during our daily park visits--as he watches the squirrels, birds, butterflies and other children play with enrapturing fascination. You just can't beat mother nature when she's at her burgeoning best--bursting with the vivid colors and crispness that life's beginning brings.

Aside from daily park visits and grassy picnics, Noah has been experiencing his first spring from the comfy cushy chair of his new jogging stroller. In order to give me some "mommy time", Dean has been taking over "Operation Noah Watch" in the mornings several hours before he leaves for work while I do whatever . . . shower, sleep, chores. Before Noah Finn made his grand appearance, Dean used to run every morning in a park close to our house--but the frequency of these pavement pounding a.m. escapades has been sporadic at best over the last few months. Now, with the addition of our three-wheeled-rubber-tired baby running machine, Dean is able to once again hit the trails daily with the little jammie-clad tike in tow. And so far, Noah Finn loves it!

Last Friday, Owen and Annaliisa paid us a visit. Just like our pre-baby days, Ani and I couldn't keep ourselves from a good shopping dose. But, unlike our pre-baby days, this time we had babies in tow--which made for lots of nursing sessions in dressing rooms and the parking garage, finagling bulky buggies through Friday night crowds and tightly packed clothing racks, one-handed size searching, shushing screams and returning scornful stares from strangers and a very late dinner sans martinis that, of course, included dessert! Oh how those shopping days of old are gone . . . and even though our purchases were rather small--two sale shirts for Ani and several pair of socks for Noah and I--I'm pretty sure neither of us would trade that beautiful Friday night for any other. It was a blast--just with babies this time.